Horse trading begun by the government to woo opposition LG members: Opposition

• Leaders of opposition parties think that the votes received by their parties are ones which were obtained through their personal capacity

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana   

The ruling party has begun horse trading to woo newly elected members of local bodies in order to form administrations where it does not command a majority, two Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MPs told Parliament, thus creating a rumpus.   

A rumpus was created when the ruling party opposition refuted the claim.   

SJB MP S. M. Marikkar said a sum of Rs 5 million has been offered to some newly appointed local government members of his party. “Some of our local government members have been offered Rs 5 million to join the ruling party in order to form the administration of Colombo Municipal Council (CMC),” he alleged.   

This he said is being done despite the claim made by the ruling party that the administration of local bodies will be formed only with independent members.   

MP Dayasiri Jayasekara said monetary rewards have been offered to opposition members in Panduwasnuwara Pradeshiya Sabha by the ruling party. “There is no majority in 149 local bodies while the seats are tied in 29 bodies.   

MP Lakmali Hemachandra who responded vehemently denied the claim made by the Opposition. “What has happened at the Local Government election is that some members of opposition parties have managed to get some votes for their respective parties. Leaders of opposition parties think that the votes received by their parties are ones which were obtained through their personal capacity. This line of thinking is false,” she said.